Om-d firmware 1.6 out.

So what's new?

According to Olympus:

• The highlight and shadow control function was modified so the exposure settings are applied correctly at ISO 2000 or higher.
• The issue that occasionally prevented operations during long exposures was resolved.

Not my first concern, wished for other functions in a new firmware, but nice to know anyway...

Gert

Yes me too, I was really hoping for some focus peaking or better wysiwyg performance.

Here is the link

http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/software/firm/omd/em5.html

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Regards,
Juan

Really, that's it? Darn, that is pretty small stuff to worry about fixing when there are much bigger things that could use some work.

How about the very slow wake-up from sleep mode? The E-M5 is very responsive, like a DSLR, except the wake-up is slow like a digicam. More info here:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50602650

How about fixing the E-M5 + 20mm f1.7 banding problem that Olympus acknowledged in June 2012? Here is more info and their acknowledgement:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/06/12/Olympus-acknowledges-OM-D-E-M5-banding-with-panasonic-20mm-f1-7-lens

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

2 updates

same here, expecting more options or enhanced menus.

--
reygon
----------------------------------------------------------------
Take nothing but photos... Kill nothing but time... Leave nothing but footprints...

I hope this only an advance Aprils fool joke on behalf of Olympus
We want focus peaking!

If the cam is switched on, the dust buster is running. I usually operate the On/Off switch and the cam is ready to shoot when close to my eye. If in sleep mode, i just press any button and  voila the cam is awake.

I am wondering if this is related to some camera settings and my guess is that you simply cannot fix this with a fw update.

They acknowledged the fact that a banding problem exists. That doesn't mean they can solve it alone (i.e. without Panasonic) and via a fw update.

I sometimes think that some people have strange ideas of what is technically possible with a fw update.  Someone was even asking for Sensor PDAF via fw update

Having said that, this fw update is a bit disappointing. I was hoping for a visible AF field for all shots of a Series in burst mode! AF options like E-PL5 as far as possible and MyModes / Bracketing in a customizable SCP.

Sabine

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________________
www.acahaya.com

Every time I read about the wake up time I wonder If I'm the only one who doesn't have that problem...

Just tested it again, let the OMD going to sleep, placed it alongside a digital timer, and it wakes up UNDER 1 second.... in my case I find it very acceptable, and everything is on, rear screen and evf..

Perhaps the slow wake up time in some case might be caused by a combination of settings?

I really am baffled by that situation, and regardless of the lens used (25mm 1.4 - 45mm 1.8 - 40-150mm - 60mm f2.8 - 12mm- 50mm kit zoom)  I never experienced those slow wake-up delays...

The above mentioned test was done with the 12mm f2 attached.

Could the memory card be a factor? (full or empty, formatted or only erased, high performance or not...)

Just wondering...

--
A mind is like a parachute, it works better when open.

That's only setting one's self up for disappointment.   Firmware updates rarely, if ever, introduce new features (well, with Oly µ4/3, anyway).

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Little Big Man
.

Definitely. I do not recall Olympus granting new features in firmware upgrades on any digicam I have owned, going back several models to the E-1. I know some makers have, but expecting it with Olympus is just setting yourself up to be disappointed.

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"There's shadows in life, baby.." Jack Horner- Boogie Nights

Absolutely agree with you. I use Olympus DSLRs since 2006 and I've never seen an Oly Fw update that was exciting. So i learned not to wait too much from Oly Fw updates:-)

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Cheers,
Frederic
http://azurphoto.com/blog/

Can someone with a Metz 58-AF1 test if Remote works now in Manual Mode, please? I lost my Olympus cable and would like to know if it is worth buying a new one

--
dirk
http://www.essl.de/

added a feature

E-510 FW 1.3 added IS support for non E-system lenses... but they never did add focus confirmation.  And they could have just forced folks to buy an E-520 to get the feature.

--
Art P
"I am a creature of contrast,
of light and shadow.
I live where the two play together,
I thrive on the conflict"

Banding related to noise generated in the lens?

Boot time related to hard wired sequence the camera must perform on start up?

Neither sounds like it could be fixed w a FW patch.

Focus peaking, on the other hand... the camera can just about do it now w a workaround... but you then have to work from the RAW.

And adding programmability to a couple more buttons? Easy... IF there are extra slots in memory

One button toggling of my sets?  I'm sure that's doable.  Maybe they'll put it in the 'OMD-pro'

--
Art P
"I am a creature of contrast,
of light and shadow.
I live where the two play together,
I thrive on the conflict"

That would qualify for the 'rarely' caveat (not a µ4/3 body, and that update has to be 5 or so years ago, no?)  

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Little Big Man
.

I use an E-M5 for street stuff and it is pretty good, but there is one thing that really, really annoys me about it.

The E-M5 is slow, much slower than a DSLR, to wake-up from sleep or when you turn it on. In my street photography I sometimes miss shots because the camera is waking up very leisurely. When possible I do my best to anticipate when I might want to take a shot and start the wake-up process, but sometimes things happen very quickly and by the time the camera is finally ready the moment has passed. In most ways the E-M5 is fast and very responsive, like a DSLR, but in this area it is like a digicam. Even if a DSLR was as slow as the E-M5 it would still have an advantage because while you are waiting for the camera to be ready to shoot you could still look through the OVF, do quick framing, adjust zoom, and then shoot as soon as the camera is ready. With the E-M5 you can't even do the quick framing and adjust zoom while you are waiting and waiting and waiting for the camera to wake-up.

Since the E-M5 does not have an OVF it uses battery power pretty fast. If you set it to never sleep then the camera is ready all the time, but the battery will run down fast. Also, the sensor and EVF will be on all the time even during the long periods when you are walking around watching for a potential shot. The sensor will be heating up and getting noisier.

I just got back from a month in Nepal and there were a few times when I almost threw my E-M5 against a brick wall when I missed a sudden photo opportunity while the camera took its sweet time waking up.

Olympus publicly acknowledged the problem so if they can't fix it then they should publicly say that too.  Olympus statement:

'After checking every possible combination of a body and a lens, we found the phenomena only with this combination (OM-D, E-M5 coupled with the Panasonic 20mm pancake lens). We are continuing to study how we can eliminate this and we recommend for our customers using E-M5 with Panasonic 20mm pancake lens to keep a low ISO to avoid this problem for the time being.'

It says they are studying how they can eliminate the problem so, as far as I know, that is the last word from Olympus.  If the status has changed to 'sorry, we can't fix it' then please tell us.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

Henry,

Have you ever timed the wake up period for you E-M5? Mine wakes up in exactly 1 second -- does your take longer?

If 1 second is not fast enough, you probably should stick with a DSLR. I have yet to miss a shot because my camera was asleep. If the moment I wanted to capture was so fast that it was over before I could get the camera to my eye, then I would just as easily missed it with a DSLR.

I have simply developed a habit of tapping my shutter release button the moment I start to raise my camera to my eye and it is ready when it gets there.

God Bless,

Greg

www.imagismphotos.com

www.mccroskery.zenfolio.com

www.pbase.com/daddyo

Just curious: how long (seconds) does it actually take for your OM-D to be ready when you turn it on?

Mine takes approximately one second, which is just a quick blink more than the time it takes me to bring it up to my eye...

Greg,

Your experience match mine exactly.

I even see the back screen come to life before I place the camera to my eye.
And, for me, 1 second is a very acceptable "delay".

I'm using an original Olympus battery and begin to wonder if using a third party battery could have an impact on the wake up time?

John

--
A mind is like a parachute, it works better when open.

Thanks for the heads-up. Personally, I haven't even heard of the two problems that this FW should fix. Does anyone have further information about the issues Oly is talking about that you could link to?

I guess the first is about highlight and shadow control in OOC jpegs so not of much concern to me as a RAW shooter. But what is "the issue that occasionally prevented operations during long exposures"?

I'm wondering if that since the image in the EVF/back screen is a jpg image, does it actually change the highlight/shadow control there?

--
http://stringfellow.smugmug.com